Terrapin by Lee Meredith

Terrapin

Lee Meredith's Ravelry Store
no longer available from 1 source show
Knitting
August 2011
Worsted (9 wpi) ?
any size - custom fitting
English
This pattern is available for $6.00 USD
buy it now or visit pattern website

This pattern is for any weight yarn! An argyle-inspired custom-fit hat that can be knit in any gauge, with or without buttons, fitted or slouched in back - make yours exactly how you want it, then knit it over and over again, different every time!

The stitch pattern throughout this hat is meant to imitate argyle, but in a single color, with twisted stitches instead of with colorwork.

Twisted stitches form interlocking diamond lines, with stockinette and reverse stockinette mimicking the different colors in a traditional argyle intarsia pattern. Add some increases and decreases to the hat body, and that argyle panel swirls diagonally around your head, along with the seed stitch panels, completing the design.

You’ll use the sideways edge cast-on technique (as discussed here on my blog) for the brim, and some very simple math for the body, to turn your any-weight yarn into your perfectly fitted hat. Choose whether you want buttons or not (no-buttons version has a grafted brim), and make the body as long as you want - shorter for a fitted hat, longer for a slouchy style.

Any weight yarn will work, here are some specifics about what you’ll need:

-Somewhere from sport weight to aran weight yarn is recommended, in a solid color; yardage depends on yarn weight and on hat size:
-- an adult size hat in sport weight will take approximately 160-200 yards (145-180 meters)
-- an adult size hat in bulky weight will take approximately 90-110 yards (80-100 meters)
-- an adult size in worsted weight will take approximately 120-160 yards (110-145 meters).
-- yardage will also vary depending on your hat fit choice - a big, slouchy hat will take more yarn than a short, fitted hat
-- also, blocking is important with this hat, so choose a yarn with fiber content that will block out well

You’ll also need:
-1 16” circular needle
-set of same size double pointed needles
-(optional) 1 longer circular needle (24” or longer) will be helpful
-1 stitch marker
-a calculator
-(buttons version only) 3 buttons; size depends on yarn weight
-(no-buttons version only) scrap yarn and a crochet hook for provisional cast-on

Notes about gauge and yarn weight:
This is an any-gauge pattern; no gauge swatch is necessary. Because the hat is for any weight yarn, the design will look different based on your yarn and hat size. It will work in any size, with any weight, but you may have some trouble with the decreasing part if you choose finer than a sport weight, or heavier than an aran, or a bulky yarn that’s on the lighter end of the bulky spectrum. If knitting a child size hat, it will be better to go lighter in weight, since the whole thing will be smaller - a sport or DK weight should work well.

Sizing: you will be custom-fitting the hat to your head; if knitting for someone else, you can custom fit it to them if you know their head measurement.

The pdf includes a detailed photo tutorial on one way to do twisted stitches, charts for the twisted stitch patterns, process photos of the sections, a how-to on blocking and another on the recommended provisional cast-on; the 25 page pdf is formatted for easy reading on your computer or digital device screen, for minimal printing needed.